KGVO "Montana Looks to the Future" Radio Program Records and Audio Recordings, 1963-1967

The "Montana Looks to the Future" radio show, which aired on the KGVO radio station, was one of the first in Montana to present a liberal viewpoint on state and national issues. The show, first broadcast in February 1964, attempted to balance the right-wing, religious ideas expressed on radio shows throughout the state, like Dr. Carl McIntyre's "Twentieth Century Reformation Hour," "Life Line" and the "Manion Forum." The Missoula Public Affairs Council, which was created to inform the community on controversial issues, teamed up with the Missoula County Trades and Labor Council, AFL-CIO, to sponsor the weekly 15-minute broadcasts on KGVO 1290 in Missoula. "Montana Looks to the Future" paid for its radio time after many failed attempts by the state AFL-CIO to receive free airtime on the basis of the Federal Communication Commission's "Fairness Doctrine." The doctrine requires broadcasters to cover controversial issues in their community by presenting more than one side of an issue.

Throughout its forty-one weeks of programming, "Montana Looks to the Future" covered a variety of topics, including the radical right, civil rights, pollution and the environment, religion, Indian rights, unemployment and education. The creators also helped air a two-part series called "Birchism in the Bitterroot," which raised awareness of the ultra-conservative John Birch Society, which was spreading anti-communist propaganda throughout the area at that time. After the general election in November 1964, the program ended.